Letter: Coal as power isn't good now, in future

Former Minnesota legislators Roger Moe and Mike Beard recently wrote to the St. Cloud Times about needing a diverse and expansive energy mix that followed an "all of the above" approach.

People like Moe and Beard like to claim that continuing to rely on outdated energy sources like coal are important for future generations. Well, as a young person who is part of the so-called future, I ask that out-of-touch and short-sighted politicians not speak for me.

We know climate change is real. We have seen the statistics from health professions that show us that coal is dangerous. We have seen the destruction from strip mining, and we understand clean energy is not only the future, but the present.

It is time for people to stop shilling for the fossil fuel industry; to them we are expendable. It is time for our leaders to actually lead and demand solutions to things like climate change, public health crises, unemployment and all the other issues we face today.

By investing in clean energy resources such as wind and solar we are creating good-paying, long-term jobs. We are putting our values into action by cleaning up the air and water and creating a legacy that allows for my generation to inherit an earth that is "even cleaner than the one we enjoy today."

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